Theatre Royal Plymouth, Richard Jordan Productions and Vooruit in association with Summerhall.
....or at least that is how it is advertised on the website for The Lowry Theatre; but I do believe the production company is Ontroerend Goed from Belgium.
However with the lack of programme, finding anything out about this company, this production and indeed cast and creative team, has proven to be less than easy. Yes, Ontroerend Goed have a website, but it is not easy to negotiate, it's all in Dutch, and the most startling thing that I find from looking here is that in the original language the play is called, "WIJVEN" = "WIVES".
So why do this company perform without programme? Are they ashamed of what they produce? Do they not want people to know their names? Do they shun publicity? Seemingly none of these, so I am totally at a loss to understand what I am told is a company policy decision.
With a lack of programme however you are forced to seek alternative sources for information and inspiration. And of course the first place I look is the website of the host theatre. There, there is a lovely picture of the company which bears absolutely no relation whatsoever to the play I have just witnessed, which again does seem very odd.
Further, before entering the theatre last night, The Lowry saw fit to announce that this production contained adult themes, nudity and was strictly for over 18 year olds. Again, I look to publicity material of this production both on The Lowry and their own websites and can find no mention of this anywhere. Again, odd.
However; to the production itself...
The performance, for that is what it is, it is not a play, lasts about one hour; and in that time you are subjected to a vocal tirade, a tyrannical rant, a verbal assault against men. This is feminism for the 21st century. This is a production which captures the zeitgeist and angst of the female community and brings all their fears and anxieties out in the open and tries to show us what their everyday lives are like.. living in the shadow and constant fear of that most hated and dangerous of beasts....man.
Unsurprisingly they are not against sex; no, they love, want and need sex; but there was not, in the whole hour any mention of love, compassion, tenderness, mutual respect or understanding. It was a very one-sided and extremely biased opinion; which, for a single, middle-aged man on my own in the audience - and audience that consisted in the vast majority of young women - made me feel less than comfortable and also very angry. If their intent was to educate and hope that men might, after watching this, somehow change their ways or see things in a different light, then sadly, for me at least, it had the exact opposite effect. I was left feeling enraged and disgusted by the fact that they were tarring every man with the same brush, gave no leeway in the fact that many women are just as bad as these men they so obviously hate; and yes, still needed men for their sexual pleasures, but for this only.
The company consisted of six young women who wore evening dresses, and entered the stage each standing behind a music stand ostensibly to perform a piece of choral music. The opening "chorus" however is a sung scream, a kind of cri-du-coeur which sets the tone for the rest of their presentation. These women then proceeded to talk, sing, scream and pant their way through their feminist manifesto, which, for all their campaigning and complaining, the final words spoken, their watchcry, "We want to be completely equal", wasn't what I heard and understood from the previous 59 minutes, bur rather, "We are better and more worthy than you, and yet we are treated like excrement".
The company is undoubtedly talented and what they presented was very professional and slick. A true ensemble company. And had it been presented a little tongue-in-cheek, or had been a little broader in opinion and indeed fact, it might well have been entertaining. Sadly, despite their talent, I left without applauding.
On a side note, there was no nudity at all. Twice the cyc{ a semi-circular piece of material at the back of the performance area } was used to project some moving image onto, but the image was too large and too out of focus to discern. Was that the nudity? I have no idea.
This performance of "Sirens" can be seen at The Lowry Theatre this evening at 8:00pm, and then in Birmingham on the 5 and 6 October.
Reviewer: Mark Dee
Reviewed: 2nd October 2015
